Are OOTs a must? What are alternatives?

i understand the logistics nightmare. i think a welcome letter along with a simple gift is plenty! we're doing OOT boxes (cheap gable boxes that are flat to pack) with minimal items along with a welcome note. don't stress! it'll work out, and your guests will be thrilled to be there with you to celebrate (OOT bag or no OOT bag)!

julia, i just got back from my wedding and i opted not to do OOT bags because it was too much of a hassle and a huge expense to get it all to cabo (i had 100 guests! no way was i lugging several extra suitcases when we could barely manage with the amount we had!). honestly, all i did for them was welcome books, and not even every guest got them because we didnt see them around before the wedding. a lot of our events or get-togethers were found out by word-of-mouth. not a single one of my guests expected an OOT bag or any kind of gift at all. they were more than thrilled we made the welcome books, which frankly i thought were not that good because i ran out of time and they were very short. my point being is, noone is going to think you are a jerk for not giving them a gift to attend your wedding. spend that money on something else, if you feel its going to be a hassle to do OOT bags, dont do them. it's ok.

I must say that hearing that many of you are trying to opt out of the OOT bags makes me feel better about what I have been thinking.

I also do not want to spend a lot of money on them, or time, and I do not want it to be a waste for my guests and me to give them something they will never use.

I like the CD idea...but also to have it sent out before we go...that is a great idea.

Thanks for all the ideas on here and thanks for asking the question.

Oh, you all rock so much!!! Thank you! For making me feel better, and for all the great alternative suggestions! Especially sending them out before hand.

I'm thinking it would be really nice to be send out a beach bag with the iron on (like Rebecca suggested - thanks Becks!), luggage tags, and a little Puerto Vallarta welcome book with information about the area and possible daytime activities, suggested packing list, etc. Then I can also have a welcome letter waiting for people in the rooms when they get there (and maybe some type of special treat/mini-gift - we're getting in two days ahead of everyone else so if we have time we can go last minute scouting!)

My FI also suggested that maybe we get iron-ons for t-shirts and make everyone a matching T-Shirt once we got down there since there's a Walmart in PV where we could go purchase the T-Shirts themselves. I haven't tried it yet so I don't know how long it would take and if I'd go nuts! For those who've done it - is this realistic??

julia dont bother doing any DIY projects once you get there. it's too stressful! do anything that you must do beforehand. trust me, we got there on weds for a saturday wedding and the little tasks we had to do in advance like tying the favor tags on and all the vendor meetings was more than enough... you want to enjoy your time during your stay, you dont want to be doing any work. IMHO its totally unrealistic to think you'll do more DIY projects there. its not worth it.

Thank you guys! What a relief I was really feeling guilty about not providing a oot bag, but with 100+ guest it was going to be waaay to heavy and expensive. I'll just be mailing a thank you letter and leaving a special gift in their rooms.

BTW can you enter you guests rooms in advance to place these, or will you have to pay the hotel to do this for you

I didn't do OOT bags. We gave out a ton of favors on the wedding day (fans, shot glasses, personalized tequila bottles, starfish, cd's, and hangover kits) which doubled for decor. I don't think anything is a must. I think a personal touch, such as a welcome letter can do just fine.